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Hillary Clinton's secretary of State memoir coming in 2014

By Hector Tobar

12:20 PM EDT, April 4, 2013

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Simon & Schuster announced Thursday that Hillary Rodham Clinton is going to write a new book—about her experiences traveling the globe, meeting world leaders and responding to crises during her tenure as secretary of State.

Think of it as a kind of foreign-policy memoir. She’ll discuss the decision to raid the home in Pakistan where Osama Bin Laden was hiding, and the U.S.-backed air war that helped lead to the downfall of Muammar Kadafi in Libya.

Clinton’s book will hit the shelves next year. In other words, she’ll be on a book tour around the time of the mid-term congressional elections, which serve as a final prequel to the crucial yearlong push before the 2016 presidential primary season begins.

The former first lady and U.S. senator hasn’t said if she’s going to run yet. But I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that her new book is going to make her look presidential.

“Hillary Clinton’s extraordinary public service has given her a unique perspective on recent history and the challenges we face,” said Jonathan Karp, president and publisher of the Simon & Schuster Publishing Group.

The untitled book, her fifth (all written for Simon & Schuster) will in its way complete an interesting literary cycle.

Her first book, “It Takes a Village” discussed society’s obligation to children and laid out the cornerstones of Clinton’s liberal policy agenda—and provoked a serious conservative backlash. The title of “Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Kids' Letters to the First Pets” speaks for itself. “An Invitation to the White House” was an attractive coffee-table book. And “Living History” was a sweeping memoir and a huge bestseller that ranged from her middle-class Illinois childhood to the failed attempt to pass healthcare reform during her husband’s presidency.

More than anything, expect gravitas from Clinton’s new offering. Simon and Schuster says that, among other topics, it will deal with “the transitions in Iraq and Afghanistan; the Arab Spring; the pivot to the Asia-Pacific; the rise of new powers like China, Brazil, Turkey, and India; building diplomatic coalitions to deal with Iran and North Korea.”

The publisher’s press release also says the book “will use a number of dramatic moments during Secretary Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State to frame her thoughts about the recent history of U.S. foreign policy and the urgent, ongoing need for American leadership in a changing world.”